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W. W. OLCOTT.

. BUGKLE. No. 430,785. Patented June 24, 1890.

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XVILLIAM XV. OLOOTT, OF BUFFALO, NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES S. DAKIN, OF SAME PLACE.

BUCKLE.

SEECIFCATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,785, dated June 24:, 1890.4

Application iiletl January 27, 1890. Serial No. 338,222. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

c it known that I, WILLIAM W. OLco'rr, a citizen. of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

'lhis invention relates more especially to the buckles which are employed for connecting the back straps of vests and pantaloons.

My invention has the object to produce a simple selfslocking buckle which is kept in a locked position by the tension of the straps united by the buckle, and which is conven iently unlocked for adjusting or disconnecting the straps without requiring the pointed tongues to loe seized, which practice is inconvenient and apt to injure the fingers.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a top plan view of my improved buckle ap plied to the back straps of a vest or pair of pantaloons. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectionof the buckle connected to the straps. Fig. is a similar view showing` the tongues open in the position in which the detachable strap may be removed from the buckle. Fig. e is a front elevation of the buckle detached from the strap. Fig. 5 is a perspective view thereof.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several gures. f

A A represent the back straps of a vest or pair of pantaloons. The frame of the buckle is rectangular in form and composed of side bars a a and raised end bars a a2.

b represents a tongue-platc or cross-bar piv oted at its ends to the side bars c a ofthe bncklc-frame about midway between the end bars, so as to leave loops or spacesbetween the tongue-bar and the end bars of the frame.

o Z1 are the tongues or prongs projecting forwardly from the pivoted tongue-bar, and bearing with their points against the front end bar a2 when in a closed position. The tongue-bar is pivoted to the buckle-frame by pins or journals formed at the ends of the bar and entering openings in the side bars of the buckleframe.

c represents aloop arranged on the pivoted tongue-bar in rear of its pivot, and to which the end of one of the back straps is permanently attached by sewing or other means, as represented in the drawings. The opposite back strap is passed through the space between the pivoted tongue-bar and the front end bar a2 from the inner side of the buckle, and is held in the same by the tongues which penetrate the strap. The free end of the strap is passed through the space or loop between the pivoted tongue-bar and the rear end bar Ct, and is confined in the buckle against the outer side of the other back strap by said end bar, as represented in Figs. l and 2. The tension of the back strap, which is attached to the loop c of the tongue-bar, tends to swing the loop outwardly, causing the tongues to be moved inwardly toward the front end bar a2 of the buckle-frame and holding their points firmly against the end bar.

To open or unlock the tongues and release the detachable strap, the thumb or finger is placed underneath the rear end bar of the buckle-frame,`as represented in Fig. 3, so as to move the rear portion of the buckle out wardly. This movement causes the front portion of the buckle-frame to move inwardly away from the tongues, the tension on the straps holding the tongue-bar and tongues in a plane with the strap permanently attached to the buckle, while the buckle-frame swings upon the tongue-bar as a fulcrum. The points of the tongues being separated from theadjacent endbar of the buckle-frame, the detachable strap is free to be stripped from the tongues and adjusted in the buckle or detached therefrom. The portion of the buckle-frame in rear of the tongue-bar thus serves as a lever or thumb-piece, whereby the tongues are conveniently opened to release the detachable strap from the buckle without the necessity of seizing the pointed tongues for this purpose, and it also acts as a keeper which retains the free end of the detachable strap against the inner strap and prevents the same from projecting when attached to the buckle.

I claim as my invention- The combination, with the rectangular buckle-frame A, composed of vertical side bars-ct and horizontal end bars a a2, connecting said side bars, of a tongueframe com- IOO posed of zt Cross-bar pivoted to the side bars angular buckle-frame, substantially as set Io of the buckle-frame between the two end bars forth. thereof, and provided with tongues or prongs Witness my hand this 21st day of J anuary, projecting forwardly from said oross-bar and 1890.

5 bearing against the front end bar a2 of the y n buckle-frame, and With a loop @arranged in TILLIAM XV' OLCOIT rear of the pivot of the cross-bur and in front Vitnesses: of the rear end bm' a of the buckle-frame, JNO. J. BONNER, the tongue-frame being inclosed by the reot- F. C. GEYER. 

